John Vickery portrays the evil uncle Scar with a juicy glee. Danny Rutigliano charms endlessly as meerkat Timon, who with his flatulent warthog buddy, Pumbaa (a very likable Bob Bouchard), raises the young Simba (highly talented 11-year-old Adrian Diamond, who alternates performances) after the cub runs away following the death of his father Mufasa (Rufus Bonds Jr.). The performers are excellent, many making easy the complex interaction between puppetry, voice and character. The masks and puppetry, created by Taymor and Michael Curry, make no effort to disguise the actors, and this decision alone keeps the show from becoming a visit to Disneyland.
The flaws in the story, and the pleasant, but by no means transporting, music from Elton John, Tim Rice and others, are completely overwhelmed by the triumphant design and the invigorating creativity of the stagecraft.įrom the opening number, “Circle of Life,” forward, Taymor creates a convincing animal kingdom, populated with leaping gazelles (a personal favorite), elephants, giraffes, lions and others. So how good is the stage version of “The Lion King,” really? It’s by no means perfect, but resist the hype as much as you will, the show remains beautifully stimulating as a pageant of theatrical imagination.
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